Terminal apparatus, output apparatus, and information processing system

ABSTRACT

A terminal apparatus for providing description about one or more objects arranged in a predetermined area is provided. The terminal apparatus includes a memory configured to store arrangement information indicating arrangement of the one or more objects in the predetermined area and description information associated with the one or more objects; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to obtain area identification information for identifying the predetermined area when the terminal apparatus is located in the predetermined area, identify a positional relationship between the terminal apparatus and the one or more objects based on the arrangement information when the area identification information is obtained, and cause the terminal apparatus to describe an object of the one or more objects, in accordance with the identified positional relationship between the terminal apparatus and the one or more objects.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 toJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-208674, filed on Oct. 27, 2017, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The disclosures herein generally relate to a terminal apparatus, anoutput apparatus, and an information processing system.

2. Description of the Related Art

In various facilities such as art galleries, museums, and exhibitionhalls, audio guides may sometimes be used to provide descriptions aboutexhibits.

As such an audio guide, an audio guide system is known that includes aplurality of transmitting apparatuses configured to transmit ID codesignals, and also includes a playback apparatus configured to receivethe ID code signals transmitted from the transmitting apparatuses, readguide audio stored in association with the ID code signals, and play theguide audio back (see Patent Document 1, for example).

In the audio guide system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a userwho uses the playback apparatus comes in front of an exhibit, guideaudio about the exhibit is played back. In such a conventional audioguide system, when a plurality of exhibits (objects) are arranged in apredetermined area where ID code signals are transmitted, it isdifficult to provide descriptions in accordance with the user's interestor intention.

RELATED-ART DOCUMENTS Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2001-112097

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment, a terminal apparatus for providing adescription about one or more objects arranged in a predetermined areais provided. The terminal apparatus includes a memory configured tostore arrangement information indicating arrangement of the one or moreobjects in the predetermined area and description information associatedwith the one or more objects; and a processor coupled to the memory andconfigured to obtain area identification information for identifying thepredetermined area when the terminal apparatus is located thepredetermined area, identify a positional relationship between theterminal apparatus and the one or more objects based on the arrangementinformation when the area identification information is obtained, andcause the terminal apparatus to describe an object of the one or moreobjects, in accordance with the identified positional relationshipbetween the terminal apparatus and the one or more objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of aninformation processing system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a terminalapparatus according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an outputapparatus according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of the terminal apparatus according to a first embodiment;

FIGS. 5A through 5C are tables illustrating examples of informationmanaged by the terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating processes performed by theterminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed bythe terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed bythe terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processperformed by the information processing system according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system configuration ofan information processing system according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another exemplary system configurationof the information processing system according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theinformation processing system according to the second embodiment;

FIGS. 13A through 13E are tables illustrating examples of informationmanaged by the information processing system according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processperformed by the information processing system according to the secondembodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system configuration ofan information processing system according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a drawing for explaining a frequency of a sound waveaccording to one embodiment;

FIGS. 17A through 17C are drawings illustrating a flat speaker accordingto the third embodiment;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are drawings for explaining the output apparatusaccording to the third embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a graph for explaining the output apparatus according to thethird embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a drawing illustrating an example of directivitycharacteristics of the output apparatus according to the thirdembodiment;

FIG. 21 is a drawing for explaining the output apparatus according tothe third embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a drawing illustrating directivity characteristics of theoutput apparatus according to the third embodiment; and

FIGS. 23A and 23B are drawings for explaining the output apparatusaccording to the third embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment, in a terminal apparatus for providing adescription about one or more objects (such as exhibits) arranged in apredetermined area, it becomes possible to describe the objects inaccordance with a user's interest or intention.

<System Configuration>

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration of aninformation processing system according to one embodiment. Aninformation processing system 1 is a system configured to provide a user101 of a facility 10, such as an art gallery, a museum, and anexhibition hall, with descriptions of a plurality of exhibits 103 athrough 103 g exhibited in the facility 10.

In the example of FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 includes aplurality of output apparatuses 110 a and 110 b, the plurality ofexhibits 103 a through 103 g, and a terminal apparatus 100 possessed bythe user 101.

In the following description, in order to refer to any of the pluralityof output apparatuses 110 a and 110 b, an “output apparatus 110” isused. Also, in order to refer to any of the plurality of exhibits 103 athrough 103 g, an “exhibit 103” is used. The number of outputapparatuses 110 and the number of exhibits 103 illustrated in FIG. 1 aremerely exemplary.

The output apparatus 110 is an apparatus configured to output, in apredetermined area, a signal (such as a sound wave, a radio wave, andlight) that includes area identification information (hereinafterreferred to as an “area ID”) for identifying the predetermined area. Forexample, in FIG. 1, the output apparatus 110 a outputs, in an area 102a, a signal including an area ID “AREA001”. The output apparatus 110 boutputs, in an area 102 b, a signal including an area ID “AREA002”.

Preferably, the output apparatus 110 outputs a sound wave including anarea ID with a frequency of greater than or equal to 16 kHz, within afrequency range (for example, 20 Hz to 20 kHz) that can be picked up bya microphone included in the terminal apparatus 100.

A sound wave with a frequency of greater than or equal to 16 kHz hashigh directivity and is difficult to be heard by humans. Thus, in orderto output a sound wave including an area ID in a predetermined area, thefrequency of greater than or equal to 16 kHz is preferable. Inparticular, a sound wave with a frequency of 16 kHz to 20 kHz can bepicked up by a commonly available microphone. Thus, in order to output asound wave including an area ID to the terminal apparatus 100, thefrequency of 16 kHz to 20 kHz is preferable. In the followingdescription, it is assumed that the output apparatus 110 outputs a soundwave including an area ID; however, the present invention is not limitedthereto. The output apparatus 110 may output a signal including an areaID via near-field communication or light.

The terminal apparatus 100 is an information terminal (such as a robotinformation terminal, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a wearableterminal) possessed by the user 101.

For example, the terminal apparatus 100 is preferably a robot terminalthat is lent in the facility 10 such as an art gallery, a museum, or anexhibition hall. In the following description, it is assumed that theterminal apparatus is a robot information terminal that is lent in thefacility 10; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. Theterminal apparatus 100 may be an information terminal having a shaperesembling a human, an animal, a game character, or an animationcharacter. Alternatively, the terminal apparatus 100 may be a commonlyavailable information terminal such as smartphone.

The terminal apparatus 100 has a standard computer configuration. Theterminal apparatus 100 includes a memory configured to store arrangementinformation indicating arrangement of exhibits (objects) in each areaand description information (such as audio data) associated with theexhibits.

Further, the terminal apparatus 100 includes a microphone that picks upsound waves output from the output apparatus 110. For example, in thearea 102 a, the terminal apparatus 100 can obtain an area ID included ina sound wave output from the output apparatus 110 a.

Further, the terminal apparatus 100 includes sensors such as anorientation sensor and geomagnetic field sensor, so as to detect adirection of the terminal apparatus 100 (for example, a direction towhich the face of the robot information terminal is directed).

With the above-described configuration, in FIG. 1, for example, when theuser 101 possessing the terminal apparatus 100, which is the robotinformation terminal, enters the area 102 a, the terminal apparatus 100obtains the area ID “AREA001”. Also, when the terminal apparatus 100obtains the area ID, the terminal apparatus 100 identifies a positionalrelationship between the terminal apparatus 100 and the exhibits 103 athrough 103 d based on arrangement information stored in the memory, anddescribes the exhibits to the user 101 in accordance with the identifiedpositional relationship.

For example, in FIG. 1, the terminal apparatus 100, which is the robotinformation terminal, and the user 101 are assumed to be facing thedirection of the exhibit 103 c. In this case, by using theabove-described sensors, the terminal apparatus 100 detects that theterminal apparatus 100 is facing the south direction. The terminalapparatus 100 also identifies that the exhibit 103 c, placed on thesouth side of the area 102 a, is located in the direction in which theterminal apparatus 100 is facing. Further, the terminal apparatus 100reads out description information associated with the exhibit 103 clocated in the direction in which the terminal apparatus 100 and theuser 101 are facing, and provides a description about the exhibit 103 c(for example, outputting audio that describes the exhibit 103 c) to theuser 101.

Similarly, when the user 101 desires to hear a description of theexhibit 103 a, for example, the user 101 can hear the description of theexhibit 103 a by turning the face of the terminal apparatus 100, whichis the robot information terminal, towards the exhibit 103 a.

As described, according to the present embodiment, in the terminalapparatus 100 for providing a description about one or more objects(such as the exhibits 103) arranged in a predetermined area, it becomespossible to describe the objects in accordance with the user 101'sinterest or intention.

<Hardware Configurations>

Next, hardware configurations of the terminal apparatus 100 and theoutput apparatus 110 will be described.

(Hardware Configuration of Terminal Apparatus)

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of theterminal apparatus according to one embodiment. The terminal apparatus100 includes, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) 201, RAM(random-access memory) 202, flash ROM (read-only memory) 203, acommunication interface (I/F) 204, a display input unit 205, amicrophone unit 206, a speaker unit 207, an action execution unit 208, asensor unit 209, and a bus 211. Further, the terminal apparatus 100includes a near-field communication unit 210 in a case where the outputapparatus 110 transmits a radio wave including an area ID via near-fieldcommunication, instead of (or in addition to) a sound wave including anarea ID.

The CPU 201 is a processor configured to implement functions of theterminal apparatus 100 by executing programs for the terminal apparatus100 stored in the flash ROM 203. The RAM 202 is volatile memory used asa work area of the CPU 201. The flash ROM 203 is non-volatile memorythat stores various types of information such as the programs for theterminal apparatus 100 and other data.

The communication I/F 204 is a communication interface such as awireless LAN (local area network) or Long-Term Evolution (LTE) forconnecting the terminal apparatus 100 to a communication network.

The display input unit 205 includes a display unit that displaysinformation and an input unit that receives an operation input. Forexample, the display input unit 205 is implemented by a touch paneldisplay. Further, the display unit and the input unit may be separatelyprovided.

The microphone unit 206 includes a sound collecting device such as amicrophone, and converts a sound wave obtained by the sound collectingdevice such as the microphone into an electrical signal. The speakerunit 207 includes a speaker that converts a sound wave signal into asound wave and outputs the sound wave, and also includes an amplifiercircuit that amplifies a sound wave signal.

The action execution unit 208 causes the terminal apparatus 100 toperform a predetermined action. For example, when the terminal apparatus100 is a robot information terminal (a smart robot), the actionexecution unit 208 includes an actuator (such as a motor) for causingthe terminal apparatus 100 to perform actions such as moving, bowing,and waving of the hand.

The sensor unit 209 includes, for example, the orientation sensor thatdetects a direction in which the terminal apparatus 100 is facing, agyro-sensor that detects an angular velocity, and an acceleration sensorthat detects acceleration.

The near-field communication unit 210 includes, for example, an antenna,a wireless circuit, and a communication control unit so as to performwireless communications in accordance with the same near-fieldcommunication method as the output apparatus 110. The bus 211 is coupledto the above-described elements, and transmits address signals, datasignals, and various types of control signals.

(Hardware Configuration of Output Apparatus)

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the outputapparatus according to one embodiment. The output apparatus 110includes, for example, a CPU 301, a RAM 302, a flash ROM 303, acommunication I/F 304, a sound wave processing unit 305, an amplifiercircuit 306, a speaker 307, and a bus 309. Also, the output apparatus110 includes a near-field communication unit 308 in a case where a radiowave including an area ID is transmitted via near-field communication.

The CPU 301 is a processor configured to implement functions of theoutput apparatus 110 by executing programs for the output apparatus 110stored in the flash ROM 303. The RAM 302 is volatile memory used as awork area of the CPU 301. The flash ROM 303 is non-volatile memory thatstores various types of information such as the programs for the outputapparatus 110 and area IDs.

The communication I/F 304 is a communication interface such as awireless LAN or a wired LAN for connecting the output apparatus 110 to acommunication network.

The sound wave processing unit 305 performs, for example, a process forgenerating a sound wave including an area ID in accordance with the CPU301's control.

Further, in the present embodiment, as a method for generating a soundwave including an area ID, information may be transmitted by modulatinga sound wave with a predetermined frequency by using frequency shiftkeying (FSK) or phase shift keying (PSK), for example. However, thepresent embodiment is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, as the method for generating a sound wave including anarea ID, a sound wave with a predetermined frequency (such as 19 kHz)may be turned on or off so as to indicate digital values of “1” or “0”.In this case, when a sound wave is received, the information terminal100 may obtain information included in the sound wave by determining thepresence or absence of a predetermined frequency at a given samplingrate.

Further, the sound wave processing unit 305 may be implemented by, forexample, an integrated circuit for audio processing, or may beimplemented by a digital signal processor. Alternatively, the sound waveprocessing unit 305 may be implemented by programs executed by the CPU301.

The amplifier circuit 306 is a sound wave amplifier that amplifies asound wave signal to be output to the speaker 307. The speaker 307 is aspeaker that converts a sound wave signal output from the amplifiercircuit 306 into a sound wave, and outputs the converted sound wave. Aconfiguration example of the speaker 307 will be described in a thirdembodiment.

The near-field communication unit 308 includes, for example, an antenna,a wireless circuit, and a communication control unit so as to performwireless communications in accordance with the same near-fieldcommunication method as the terminal apparatus 100. The bus 309 iscoupled to the above-described elements, and transmits address signals,data signals, and various types of control signals.

First Embodiment

<Functional Configuration>

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of theterminal apparatus according to a first embodiment. The terminalapparatus 100 includes, for example, a signal receiving unit 401, anidentification information obtaining unit 402, a positional relationshipidentifying unit 403, an execution control unit 404, an exhibitinformation obtaining unit 405, an additional information obtaining unit406, a history information management unit 407, a display input controlunit 408, a speech recognition unit 409, a communication unit 410, and amemory 411.

The terminal apparatus 100 implements the above-described functionalconfiguration by executing application programs (hereinafter referred toas applications) for the terminal apparatus 100. The applications arestored in the flash ROM 203 illustrated in FIG. 2, for example, and arecompatible with the information processing system 1. At least a part ofthe functional configuration may be implemented by hardware.

The signal receiving unit 401 is implemented by an application that isexecuted by the CPU 201, for example. Also, the signal receiving unit401 receives a signal including an area ID, output from the outputapparatus 110. For example, by using the microphone unit 206 illustratedin FIG. 2, the signal receiving unit 401 receives, in the area 102 a ofFIG. 1, a sound wave including an area ID output from the outputapparatus 110 a. As another example, by using the near-fieldcommunication unit 210 illustrated in FIG. 2, the signal receiving unit401 may receive a radio wave including an area ID output from the outputapparatus 110. In the following description, it is assumed that thesignal receiving unit 401 receives a sound wave including an area IDoutput from the output apparatus 110.

The identification information obtaining unit 402 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201, for example. Also, theidentification information obtaining unit 402 obtains identificationinformation such as an area ID from a signal received by the signalreceiving unit 401. For example, the identification informationobtaining unit 402 analyzes a sound wave received by the signalreceiving unit 401 in the area 102 a of FIG. 1, and extracts the area ID“AREA001” included in the sound wave.

The positional relationship identifying unit 403 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201, for example. When theidentification information obtaining unit 402 obtains an area ID, thepositional relationship identifying unit 403 identifies a positionalrelationship between the terminal apparatus 100 and exhibits based onarrangement information included in exhibit information 412 stored inthe memory 411.

The memory 411 stores exhibit information 412 as illustrated in FIG. 5A.The exhibit information 412 may be stored in the memory 411 before theterminal apparatus 100 is lent to the user. Alternatively, the exhibitinformation 412 may be obtained from a management server 420 by theexhibit information obtaining unit 405, which will be described later,and may be stored in the memory 411.

In the example of FIG. 5A, the exhibit information 412 includes “areaID,” “arrangement information,” “description information,” and“additional information”.

The “area ID” is area identification information for identifying anarea, such as the areas 102 a and 102 b as described above.

The “arrangement information” is information indicating positions whereexhibits (objects) are arranged in each area. In the example of FIG. 5A,the “arrangement information” includes information such as “arrangementposition,” “exhibit,” and “exhibit ID”. The “arrangement position” isinformation indicating positions of exhibits in each area andrepresented by orientations such as the north, west, south, and east inthe example of FIG. 5A. The “arrangement position” informationillustrated in FIG. 5A is merely exemplary. The “arrangement position”may be represented by an azimuth, with the north direction as areference. The “exhibit” is information indicating a name or an overviewof each exhibit. The “exhibit ID” is identification information foridentifying each exhibit.

In the example of FIG. 5A, the exhibit 103 a having an exhibit ID“ITEM001” is placed on the north side of the area (the area 102 a)having the area ID “AREA001,” as illustrated in FIG. 1. Similarly, theexhibit 103 b having an exhibit ID “ITEM002” is placed on the west sideof the area 102 a, the exhibit 103 c having an exhibit ID “ITEM003” isplaced on the south side, and the exhibit 103 d having an exhibit ID“ITEM004” is placed on the east side.

The “description information” is a description associated with acorresponding exhibit. The description information may be audio data fordescribing an exhibit, and may also contain strings and image data fordescribing the exhibit.

When the additional information obtaining unit 406, which will bedescribed later, obtains additional information on a correspondingexhibit, the obtained additional information is stored in the“additional information”.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the functional configuration of the terminalapparatus 100 continues to be described.

When the identification information obtaining unit 402 obtains an areaID, the positional relationship identifying unit 403 obtains a directionin which the terminal apparatus 100 is facing by using the sensor unit209, and identifies an exhibit located in a predetermined direction withrespect to the terminal apparatus 100 based on the arrangementinformation included in the exhibit information 412.

Preferably, when the identification information obtaining unit 402obtains an area ID, the positional relationship identifying unit 403identifies an exhibit located in a direction to which the face of theterminal apparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal, isturned. For example, in FIG. 1, when the face of the terminal apparatus100 is directed to the south direction, the positional relationshipidentifying unit 403 identifies the exhibit 103 c located on the southside of the area 102 a based on the arrangement information included inthe exhibit information 412.

Further, in FIG. 1, when the user 101 causes the face of the terminalapparatus to turn to the direction of the exhibit 103 a, the positionalrelationship identifying unit 403 identifies the exhibit 103 a locatedon the north side of the area 102 a based on the arrangement informationincluded in the exhibit information 412.

The execution control unit 404 is implemented by an application executedby the CPU 201, for example. Also, the execution control unit 404 causesthe terminal apparatus 100 to describe an exhibit in accordance with thepositional relationship between the terminal apparatus 100 and theexhibit identified by the positional relationship identifying unit 403.

For example, when the relationship identifying unit 403 identifies anexhibit located in a direction to which the face of the terminalapparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal, is directed, theexecution control unit 404 causes the speaker unit 207 to output adescription of the identified exhibit. For example, in FIG. 1, when thepositional relationship identifying unit 403 identifies the exhibit 103c located on the south direction to which the face of the terminalapparatus 100 is directed, the execution control unit 404 obtainsdescription information (audio data) associated with the exhibit 103 cstored in the exhibit information 412, and causes the speaker unit 207to output the obtained description information.

The exhibit information obtaining unit 405 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201. The exhibit information 412stored in the memory 411 is obtained by the exhibit informationobtaining unit 405 from the management server 420, for example.

Herein, the management server 420 is an information processing apparatusor a system including a plurality of information processing apparatusescapable of communicating with the terminal apparatus 100 via acommunication network 421. The terminal apparatus 100 may operate as astand-alone apparatus by using the exhibit information 412 preliminarilystored in the memory 411. However, the terminal apparatus 100 may beconfigured to obtain the exhibit information 412 from the managementserver 420 and to store the exhibit information 412 in the memory 411.

The additional information obtaining unit 406 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201, for example. Also, theadditional information obtaining unit 406 obtains additional informationon an exhibit from the management server 420, for example. Theadditional information is described by using the speaker unit 207.

For example, the additional information obtaining unit 406 obtains, fromthe management server 420, information such as current weatherinformation and event information requiring real-time performance andunable to be preliminarily stored in the memory 411. Then, theadditional information obtaining unit 406 stores the obtainedinformation in the exhibit information 412 of the memory 411 asadditional information. Accordingly, the execution control unit 404 canprovide the user 101 with additional information such as weatherinformation and event information, in addition to descriptioninformation stored in the exhibit information 412 of the memory 411.

The history information management unit 407 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201, for example. Also, for eachuser 101 who uses the terminal apparatus 100, the history informationmanagement unit 407 manages history information 413 that storesinformation such as exhibit IDs of exhibits that have already beendescribed and area IDs that have already been received.

For example, the history information management unit 407 stores thehistory information 413 in the memory 411 and manages the historyinformation 413 as illustrated in FIG. 5B. In the example of FIG. 5B,the history information 413 includes “user ID,” “area ID receptionhistory,” and “exhibit description history”.

The “user ID” is identification information for identifying a user 101who uses the terminal apparatus 100. The “area ID reception history” isa list of area IDs that have already been received by the terminalapparatus 100. The area IDs are managed in association with each userID. Accordingly, the terminal apparatus 100 can manage areas visited byeach user 101 who uses the terminal apparatus 100.

The “exhibit description history” is a list of exhibits that have beendescribed by the terminal apparatus 100. For example, the “exhibitdescription history” stores an exhibit ID for identifying an exhibit inassociation with each user ID. Accordingly, it becomes possible for theterminal apparatus 100 to avoid repeatedly describing the same exhibit.

Further, it is assumed that the exhibit information obtaining unit 405updates the exhibit information 412 illustrated in FIG. 5A to exhibitinformation 412 illustrated in FIG. 5C. In the exhibit information 412illustrated in FIG. 5C, an exhibit placed on the west side of the areaID “AREA001” is changed from the “exhibit 103 b” to an “exhibit 103 h.”In this case, the execution control unit 404 of the terminal apparatus100 permits the terminal apparatus 100 to describe the exhibit 103 h.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the functional configuration of the terminalapparatus 100 continues to be described.

The display input control unit 408 is implemented by an application thatis executed by the CPU 201, for example. The display input control unit408 controls display of a screen on the display input unit 205 andcontrols reception of an operation performed by the user 101 via thedisplay input unit 205. For example, when the user 101 starts using theterminal apparatus 100, the display input control unit 408 causes thedisplay input unit 205 to display an input screen for inputting userinformation such as a user ID. Then, the display input control unit 408receives the user ID input by the user 101 and stores the user ID in theuser information 415 of the memory 411.

The speech recognition unit 409 is implemented by an application that isexecuted by the CPU 201, for example. The speech recognition unit 409analyzes the user 101's voice obtained by the microphone unit 206, andextracts operation information for operating the terminal apparatus 100,strings, and the like. Accordingly, it becomes possible for the terminalapparatus 100 to receive not only input operations via the display inputunit 205, but also receive predetermined operations via the user'svoice.

The communication unit 410 is implemented by a program that is executedby the CPU 201, the communication I/F 204, and the like. For example,the communication unit 410 connects the terminal apparatus 100 to thecommunication network 421 such as the Internet and the LAN so as tocommunicate with the management server 420.

The memory 411 is implemented by a program that is executed by the CPU201, the flash ROM 203, the RAM 202, and the like. The memory 411 storesvarious types of information including the exhibit information 412, thehistory information 413, and the user information 415. The memory 411also stores terminal information 414 such as identification informationfor identifying the terminal apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as aterminal ID).

The functional configuration of the terminal apparatus 100 illustratedin FIG. 4 is an exemplary functional configuration of the informationprocessing system 1. For example, a part of the functional configurationincluded in the terminal apparatus 100 may be included in the managementserver 420.

<Process Flows>

Next, process flows of an information processing method performed by theinformation processing system 1 and the terminal apparatus 100 accordingto the first embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts illustrating examples of processesperformed by the terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment.FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a start process performed by theterminal apparatus 100 when the user 101 starts using the terminalapparatus 100 in the facility 10. FIG. 6B illustrates an example of aprocess performed by the terminal apparatus 100 after the start processis performed.

(Start Process Performed by Terminal Apparatus)

In step S611 of FIG. 6A, the terminal apparatus 100 receives userinformation input by the user 101 who uses the terminal apparatus 100.For example, when the user 101 starts using the terminal apparatus 100,the display input control unit 408 of the terminal apparatus 100 causesthe display input unit 205 to display the input screen for inputting auser ID (an example of user information) and receives the user ID inputby the user 101.

In step S612, the display input control unit 408 of the terminalapparatus 100 stores the received user ID in the user information 415 ofthe memory 411.

In step S613, the exhibit information obtaining unit 405 of the terminalapparatus 100 communicates with the management server 420 by using, forexample, the communication unit 410, and determines whether exhibitinformation 412 stored in the memory 411 is to be updated.

When the exhibit information 412 is not to be updated, the terminalapparatus 100 ends the start process. When the exhibit information 412is to be updated, the exhibit information obtaining unit 405 causes theprocess to proceed to step S614.

In step S614, the exhibit information obtaining unit 405 obtains theupdated exhibit information 412 from the management server 420, andstores the updated exhibit information 412 in the memory 411.

Note that steps S613 and S614 are merely exemplary and are not required.For example, the latest information such as persons in charge at thefacility 10 may be stored in the exhibit information 412 of the terminalapparatus 100 before the terminal apparatus 100 is lent to the user 101.

(Process 1 Performed by Terminal Apparatus)

In step S621 of FIG. 6B, the signal receiving unit 401 of the terminalapparatus 100 receives a sound wave around the terminal apparatus 100 byusing the microphone unit 206. In the example of FIG. 1, the signalreceiving unit 401 of the terminal apparatus 100 receives a sound waveincluding the area ID “AREA001” output from the output apparatus 110 a.

In step S622, the identification information obtaining unit 402 of theterminal apparatus 100 analyzes the sound wave received by the signalreceiving unit 401, and obtains an area ID included in the sound wave.In the example of FIG. 1, the identification information obtaining unit402 of the terminal apparatus 100 obtains the area ID “AREA001” from thesound wave received by the signal receiving unit 401.

In step S623, the terminal apparatus 100 determines whether theidentification information obtaining unit 402 has obtained the area ID.When the area ID has not been obtained, the terminal apparatus 100causes the process to return to step S621, and performs the processagain. When the area ID has been obtained, the terminal apparatus 100causes the process to proceed to step S624.

In step S624, based on the area ID obtained by the identificationinformation obtaining unit 402 and arrangement information included inthe exhibit information 412 stored in the memory 411, the positionalrelationship identifying unit 403 of the terminal apparatus 100identifies an exhibit located in a predetermined direction with respectto the terminal apparatus 100. In the following description, thepredetermined direction is regarded as a direction in which the terminalapparatus 100 is facing (for example, a direction to which the face ofthe terminal apparatus 100 is directed). However, the present inventionis not limited thereto. For example, the positional relationshipidentifying unit 403 may identify a direction pointed out by theterminal apparatus 100 or may identify a line-of-sight direction of theterminal apparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal.

In the example of FIG. 1, for example, the positional relationshipidentifying unit 403 detects that the terminal apparatus 100 is facingthe south direction by using the sensor unit 209. Further, based on thearea ID “AREA001” obtained by the identification information obtainingunit 402 and the arrangement information included in the exhibitinformation 412, the positional relationship identifying unit 403identifies that an exhibit located in the (south) direction in which theterminal apparatus 100 is facing is the exhibit 103 c.

In step S625, the control unit 404 of the terminal apparatus 100determines whether the exhibit identified by the positional relationshipidentifying unit 403 is an exhibit that has already been described. Forexample, when the exhibit ID “ITEM003” of the exhibit 103 c identifiedby the positional relationship identifying unit 403 is included in the“exhibit description history” of the history information 413 asillustrated in FIG. 5, the execution control unit 404 determines thatthe identified exhibit has already been described. When the exhibit ID“ITEM003” of the exhibit 103 c identified by the positional relationshipidentifying unit 403 is not included in the “exhibit descriptionhistory” of the history information 413, the execution control unit 404determines that the identified exhibit has not been described yet.

When the identified exhibit has already been described, the executioncontrol unit 404 prohibits the terminal apparatus 100 from describingthe exhibit that has already been described and ends the process. Whenthe identified exhibit has not been described, the execution controlunit 404 causes the process to proceed to step S626.

In step S626, the execution control unit 404 causes the terminalapparatus 100 to describe the identified exhibit. For example, theexecution control unit 404 reads audio data included in the “descriptioninformation” of the exhibit information 412 as illustrated in. FIG. 5A.Then, the execution control unit 404 uses the speaker unit 207 to outputaudio included in the “description information”. Accordingly, forexample, in FIG. 1, the terminal apparatus 100 can describe the exhibit103 c to the user 101.

In step S627, the execution control unit 404 stores the exhibit ID ofthe exhibit described in step S626 in the “exhibit description history”of the history information 413. For example, when the exhibit 103 c isdescribed to the user 101 having the user ID “USER001,” the executioncontrol unit 404 stores the exhibit ID “ITEM003” in the “exhibitdescription history” that corresponds to the user ID “USER001” in thehistory information 413.

By repeatedly performing the above-described process, the terminalapparatus 100 can describe the exhibits 103 a through 103 g arranged inthe areas 102 a and 102 b of the facility 10.

(Process 2 Performed by Terminal Apparatus)

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed bythe terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7illustrates an example of a process in which the terminal apparatus 100describes additional information obtained by the additional informationobtaining unit 406, in addition to performing the process illustrated inFIG. 6. Steps S621 through S627 illustrated in FIG. 7 are the same asthose in FIG. 6B. Thus, differences from the process illustrated in FIG.6B will be mainly described below.

In step S701, the terminal apparatus 100 communicates with themanagement server 420 via the communication unit 410, and determineswhether there is additional information on the described exhibit.

When there is no additional information on the described exhibit, theterminal apparatus 100 ends the process. When there is additionalinformation on the described exhibit, the additional informationobtaining unit 406 causes the process to proceed to step S702.

In step S702, the additional information obtaining unit 406 of theterminal apparatus 100 obtains additional information from themanagement server 420, and stores the obtained additional information inthe “additional information” of the exhibit information 412 asillustrated in FIG. 5A, for example. Also, the execution control unit404 reads audio data stored in the “additional information” thatcorresponds to the exhibit ID of the exhibit information 412, andoutputs audio stored in the “additional information” by using thespeaker unit 207.

Accordingly, it becomes possible for the terminal apparatus 100 toprovide the user 101 with information that is difficult to bepreliminarily stored in the memory 411, such as current weatherinformation and event information.

(Process 3 Performed by Terminal Apparatus)

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process performed bythe terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8illustrates an example of a process in which there is an interruption tothe terminal apparatus 100 by user 101. Steps S622 through S627illustrated in FIG. 8 are the same as those in FIG. 6B. Thus,differences from the process illustrated in FIG. 6B will be mainlydescribed below.

In step S801, the terminal apparatus 100 determines whether there is auser interruption. For example, the speech recognition unit 409 of theterminal apparatus 100 performs speech recognition processing for thesound wave received by the signal receiving unit 401. For example, whenpredetermined speech such as “How is the weather outside?” or “Is thereany event?” is recognized, the terminal apparatus 100 determines thatthere is a user interruption. Alternatively, when a predeterminedoperation is performed on the display input unit 205 of the terminalapparatus 100, the display input control unit of the terminal apparatus100 may determine that there is an interruption.

When there is no interruption, the terminal apparatus 100 causes theprocess to proceed to step S622. When there is an interruption, theterminal apparatus 100 causes the process to proceed to step S802.

In step S802, the terminal apparatus 100 receives the user 101'sselection of information to be described. For example, when speechrelated to weather such as “How is the weather outside?” is recognizedby the speech recognition unit 409, the terminal apparatus 100 receivesselection of “weather” as information to be described. Also, when speechrelated to “event” such as “Is there any event?” is recognized by thespeech recognition unit 409, the terminal apparatus 100 receivesselection of an “event” as information to be described.

Alternatively, the display input control unit 408 of the terminalapparatus 100 may cause the display input unit 205 to display aselection screen for selecting information to be described, and theterminal apparatus 100 may obtain information selected by the user 101.

In step S803, the terminal apparatus 100 describes the selectedinformation. For example, when “weather” is selected as information tobe described, the additional information obtaining unit 406 of theterminal apparatus 100 obtains weather information from the managementserver 420, and the execution control unit 404 causes the terminalapparatus 100 to describe the obtained weather information.

After the description is complete, the terminal apparatus 100 causes theprocess to return to step S621, and starts the process again. With theabove-described process, the terminal apparatus 100 can interactivelycommunicate with the user.

(Process Performed by Information Processing System)

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a process performed by theinformation processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9illustrates an example of the entire process performed by theinformation processing system 1. Steps illustrated in FIG. 9 correspondto the steps illustrated in FIG. 6A and FIG. 7; thus, a detaileddescription will be omitted.

In step S901, the user 101 performs a start operation (such as turningon the power of starting an application) of the terminal apparatus 100lent from the facility 10.

In step S902, the display input control unit 408 of the terminalapparatus 100 causes the display input unit 205 to display the inputscreen for inputting user information.

In step S903, the user 101 performs an input operation on the inputscreen for inputting user information (such as a user ID).

In step S904, the display input control unit 408 of the terminalapparatus 100 receives the user information 415 input by the user 101.Then, the display input control unit 408 stores the received userinformation 415 in the memory 411. Steps S901 through S904 correspond tosteps S611 and S612.

In step S905, the exhibit information obtaining unit 405 of the terminalapparatus 100 requests of the management server 420 via thecommunication unit 410 whether there are updates for the exhibitinformation 412.

When there are updates for the exhibit information 412, the exhibitinformation obtaining unit 405 obtains the updated exhibit information412 from the management server 420 in step S906, and stores the updatedexhibit information 412 in the memory 411 in step S907. Further, steps905 through 907 correspond to steps S613 and S614 of FIG. 6A.

In step S908, sound wave including an area ID output from the outputapparatus 110 is received by the terminal apparatus 100.

In step S909, the signal receiving unit 401 of the terminal apparatus100 obtains the sound wave output from the output apparatus 110. Theidentification information obtaining unit 402 obtains the area IDincluded in the obtained sound wave. Steps S908 and S909 correspond tosteps S621 and S622.

In step S910, the positional relationship identifying unit 403 of theterminal apparatus 100 identifies an exhibit located in a predetermineddirection with respect to the terminal apparatus 100. For example, thepositional relationship identifying unit 403 identifies an exhibitlocated in a direction to which the face of the terminal apparatus 100,which is the robot information terminal, is directed. This stepcorresponds to step S624 of FIG. 6B.

In step S911, when the exhibit located in the predetermined directionhas not been described yet, the execution control unit 404 of theterminal apparatus 100 causes the terminal apparatus 100 to describe theexhibit located in the predetermined direction. This step corresponds tosteps S625 and S626 of FIG. 6B.

In step S912, the execution control unit 404 of the terminal apparatus100 stores an exhibit ID of the described exhibit, and updates thehistory information 413. This step corresponds to step S627 of FIG. 6,for example.

In step S913, the additional information obtaining unit 406 of theterminal apparatus 100 requests of the management server 420 via thecommunication unit 410 whether there is additional information.

When the management server 420 has additional information, theadditional information obtaining unit 406 obtains the additionalinformation from the management server 420 in step S914. Then, theexecution control unit 404 causes the terminal apparatus 100 to describethe additional information in step S915.

As described, according to the present embodiment, in the terminalapparatus 100 for providing a description about the one or more exhibits103 a through 103 g arranged in the predetermined area, it becomespossible to describe the exhibits 103 a through 103 g in accordance withthe user 101's interest or intention.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, an example in which in addition to the terminalapparatus 100 that is the robot information terminal, an exhibit thatalso performs predetermined actions will be described.

<System Configuration>

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary system configuration of an informationprocessing system according to the second embodiment. An area 102 aillustrated in FIG. 10 is one of the areas 102 a and 102 b, for example.In FIG. 10, the output apparatus 110 a intermittently outputs a soundwave including an area ID “AREA001” in the area 102 a at a predeterminedtime interval. Also, in addition to the exhibit 103 a and the exhibit103 b, the area 102 a includes an exhibit 1001 that receives a soundwave including predetermined control information and performs apredetermined action in accordance with the received controlinformation.

In FIG. 10, the terminal apparatus 100 possessed by a user 101 is arobot information terminal, for example. The terminal apparatus 100obtains an area ID included in a sound wave output from the outputapparatus 110. When the terminal apparatus 100 obtains the area ID, theterminal apparatus 100 outputs a sound wave including a terminal ID ofthe terminal apparatus 100 for a period of time in which no sound waveis output from the output apparatus 110. The terminal ID of the terminalapparatus 100 is an example of the predetermined control information.

Further, in FIG. 10, the exhibit 1001 is a dinosaur-shaped exhibit, forexample. When the exhibit 1001 receives a sound wave including aterminal ID output from the terminal apparatus 100, the exhibit 1001performs a predetermined action (for example, roaring, causing the eyesto glow, or wagging the tail). Accordingly, for example, when the user101 possessing the terminal apparatus 100 enters the area 102 a, theexhibit 1001 can automatically perform a predetermined action.

FIG. 11 illustrates another exemplary system configuration of theinformation processing system according to the second embodiment.Similarly to FIG. 10, the area 102 a illustrated in FIG. 11 includes theexhibit 1001 that receives a sound wave including predetermined controlinformation and performs a predetermined action in accordance with thereceived control information.

In FIG. 11, an operator 1102 who is personnel of the facility 10 can usean operator terminal 1101 to output a sound wave includingidentification information for identifying predetermined action(hereinafter referred to as an action ID) for a period of time in whichno sound wave is output from the output apparatus 110. The action ID isan example of the predetermined control information.

Also, in FIG. 11, the exhibit 1001 is a dinosaur-shaped exhibit, forexample. When the exhibit 1001 receives a sound wave including an actionID output from the operator terminal 1101, the exhibit 1001 performs anaction corresponding to the action ID. Further, when the terminalapparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal and is possessedby the user 101, receives the sound wave including the action ID outputfrom the operator terminal 1101, the terminal apparatus 100 performs apredetermined action corresponding to the action ID. Accordingly, inaccordance with a sound wave including an action ID output from theoperator terminal 1101, a predetermined event can be performed, such asan event in which the terminal apparatus 100, which is the robotinformation terminal, screams when the dinosaur-shaped exhibit 1001roars loudly.

<Functional Configuration>

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functionalconfiguration of the information processing system according to thesecond embodiment.

(Functional Configuration of Terminal Apparatus)

The basic functional configuration of the terminal apparatus 100according to the second embodiment is similar to the functionconfiguration of the terminal apparatus 100 according to the firstembodiment illustrated in FIG. 4. In the following, differences from thefunctional configuration of the terminal apparatus 100 according to thefirst embodiment will be mainly described.

In addition to the functional configuration of the terminal apparatus100 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, theterminal apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment also includesa control information transmitting unit 1201. Also, in addition to thevarious types of information stored in the memory 411 according to thefirst embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the memory 411 of the terminalapparatus 100 according to the second embodiment also stores actioninformation 1202.

The control information transmitting unit 1201 is implemented by anapplication that is executed by the CPU 201, for example. When theidentification information obtaining unit 402 obtains a new area ID, thecontrol information transmitting unit 1201 outputs a sound waveincluding a terminal ID of the terminal apparatus 100.

Preferably, the control information transmitting unit 1201 outputs asound wave including a terminal ID of the terminal apparatus 100 for aperiod of time in which a sound wave, which is intermittently outputfrom the output apparatus 110, is not output.

Preferably, the control information transmitting unit 1201 stores, inthe history information 413 of the memory 411, an area ID of an area inwhich a sound wave including a terminal ID is output. When an area IDobtained by the identification information obtaining unit 402 is alreadystored in the history information 413, the control informationtransmitting unit 1201 does not output a sound wave including a terminalID.

Further, the memory 411 according to the present embodiment stores theaction information 1202 in which predetermined actions are eachassociated with a corresponding action ID. Further, when theidentification information obtaining unit 402 obtains an action ID froma sound wave received by the signal receiving unit 401, the executioncontrol unit 404 according to the present embodiment causes the terminalapparatus 100 to perform an action corresponding to the obtained actionID.

FIGS. 13A through 13E are tables illustrating examples of informationmanaged by the information processing system according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 13A illustrates an example of exhibit information 412 stored in thememory 411 by the terminal apparatus 100 according to the secondembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 13A, the exhibit information 412according to the second embodiment includes “action” informationindicating an action of an exhibit. The “action” information storespredetermined action performed by an exhibit when the exhibit receives asound wave including a terminal ID. For example, when an exhibit havingan exhibit ID “ITEM101” receives a sound wave including a terminal ID,actions of “roaring,” “causing the eyes to glow,” and “wagging the tail”are sequentially or randomly performed. Although not illustrated in theexhibit information 412 of FIG. 13A, “additional information” may alsobe included in the exhibit information 412 according to the secondembodiment.

FIG. 13B illustrates an example of history information 413 stored in thememory 411 by the terminal apparatus 100 according to the secondembodiment. As illustrated FIG. 13B, history information according tothe second embodiment includes information such as “terminal IDtransmission history” and “action ID reception history”. The “terminalID transmission history” stores an area ID of an area in which theterminal apparatus 100 outputs a sound wave including a terminal ID.Thus, the terminal apparatus 100 is controlled such that a sound waveincluding a terminal ID is not repeatedly output in the same area. The“action ID reception history” stores an action ID that has already beenreceived. Thus, the terminal apparatus 100 is controlled such that thesame action is not repeatedly performed every time the same action ID isreceived.

FIG. 13C illustrates an example of action information 1202 stored in thememory 411 by the terminal apparatus 100 according to the secondembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 13C, for example, the actioninformation 1202 includes information such as “action ID” and “action”.For example, the “action ID” is identification information foridentifying an action, and is included in a sound wave output from theoperator terminal 1101. The “action” stores an action associated with anaction ID. In the example of FIG. 13C, when the terminal apparatus 100,which is the robot information terminal, receives a sound wave includingan action ID “ACT001,” the terminal apparatus 100 performs an action of“waving the hand”.

Referring back to FIG. 12, the functional configuration of the exhibit1001 will be described.

(Functional Configuration of Exhibit)

The exhibit 1001 includes a hardware configuration similar to that ofthe terminal apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 2. The exhibit 1001implements a signal receiving unit 1211, an execution control unit 1212,and an action information memory 1213 by causing a CPU 201 to executepredetermined programs.

For example, the signal receiving unit 1211 receives a sound wave pickedup by a microphone unit 206, and obtains identification information (forexample, a terminal ID or an action ID) included in the received soundwave. For example, in accordance with action information 1301 stored inthe action information memory 1213 as illustrated in FIG. 13D, theexecution control unit 1212 causes the exhibit 1001 to perform an actioncorresponding to the identification information obtained by the signalreceiving unit 1211.

FIG. 13D illustrates an example of the action information 1301 stored inthe action information memory 1213 of the exhibit 1001. As illustratedin FIG. 13D, the action information 1301 includes information such as“identification information” and “action”. For example, the“identification information” is identification information such as anaction ID included in a sound wave output from the operator terminal1101 or a terminal ID included in a sound wave output from the terminalapparatus 100. The “action” stores information indicating an actionassociated with corresponding “identification information”. For example,in the example of FIG. 13D, when identification information obtained bythe signal receiving unit 1211 is the action ID “ACT001,” the exhibit1001 performs an action of “causing the eyes to glow”. Also, whenidentification information obtained by the signal receiving unit 1211 isa terminal ID, the exhibit 1001 sequentially or randomly performsactions of “roaring,” “causing the eyes to glow,” and “wagging thetail”.

(Functional Configuration of Operator Terminal)

The operator terminal 1101 includes a hardware configuration similar tothat of the terminal apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 2. The operatorterminal 1101 implements a display input control unit 1221, a controlinformation transmitting unit 1222, and a control information memory1223 by causing a CPU 201 to execute predetermined programs.

Based on control information stored in the control information memory1223, the display input control unit 1221 causes a display input unit205 to display a selection screen for selecting an event to beperformed, and obtains an action ID corresponding to the selected eventfrom control information. By using a speaker unit 207, the controlinformation transmitting unit 1222 outputs a sound wave including theaction ID obtained by the display input control unit 1221.

FIG. 13E illustrates an example of control information 1302 stored inthe control information memory 1223 of the operator terminal 1101. Asillustrated in FIG. 13E, the control information 1302 stores “action ID”in association with “action”. The “action ID” is identificationinformation for identifying an action (an event) to be performed by theexhibit 1001 or by the terminal apparatus 100. The “action” stores anevent description or an event name associated with a correspondingaction ID.

<Process Flow>

Next, a process flow performed by the information processing system 1and the terminal apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment willbe described.

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a processperformed by the information processing system according to the secondembodiment. FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a process performed by theinformation processing system 1 when the user 101 possessing theterminal apparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal, entersthe area 102 a as illustrated in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. It is assumed thatwhen the process illustrated in FIG. 14 starts, the area ID “AREA001”and action IDs “ACT002” and “ACT001” have not been stored in the historyinformation 413 of the memory 411 in the terminal apparatus 100.

In steps S1401 and S1402, the signal receiving unit 401 of the terminalapparatus 100 receives a sound wave including the area ID “AREA001”output from the output apparatus 110 a. Also, the identificationinformation obtaining unit 402 of the terminal apparatus 100 obtains thearea ID “AREA001” from the sound wave received by the signal receivingunit 401, and stores the obtained area ID in the “area ID receptionhistory” of the history information 413 as illustrated in FIG. 13B, forexample.

In step S1403, the control information transmitting unit 1201 of theterminal apparatus 100 outputs a sound wave including a terminal ID ofthe terminal apparatus 100, in accordance with the area ID obtained bythe identification information obtaining unit 402. At this time, thesignal receiving unit 1211 of the exhibit 1001 receives the sound waveoutput from the terminal apparatus 100 and obtains the terminal ID′included in the received sound wave.

In step S1404, based on the terminal ID obtained by the signal receivingunit 1211 and the action information 1301 as illustrated in FIG. 13D,the execution control unit 1212 of the exhibit 1001 causes the exhibit1001 to perform a predetermined action. For example, the executioncontrol unit 1212 causes the exhibit 1001 to randomly execute actions of“roaring,” “causing the eyes to glow,” and “wagging the tail”corresponding to the “terminal ID” of FIG. 13D.

With the above-described steps, for example, when the user 101possessing the terminal apparatus 100 enters the area 102 a asillustrated in FIG. 10, the dinosaur-shaped exhibit 1001 automaticallyperforms a predetermined action.

Further, in step S1405, when the terminal apparatus 100 obtains a soundwave including the area ID “AREA001” again, the identificationinformation obtaining unit 402 verifies that the area ID “AREA001” hasalready been stored in the history information 413 in step S1406. Thus,the terminal apparatus 100 does not output a sound wave including theterminal ID.

Next, in step S1407, the operator 1102 possessing the operator terminal1101 as illustrated in FIG. 11 performs an operation of selecting anaction “event 2,” for example.

In steps S1408 and S1409, the display input control unit 1221 of theoperator terminal 1101 obtains an action ID “ACT002” corresponding tothe action “event 2” from the control information 1302 as illustrated inFIG. 13E. Also, the control information transmitting unit 1222 of theoperator terminal 1101 outputs a sound wave including the action ID“ACT002” obtained by the display input control unit 1221.

In step S1410, the signal receiving unit 1211 of the exhibit 1001obtains the action ID “ACT002” included in the sound wave output fromthe operator terminal 1101. Also, the execution control unit 1212 of theexhibit 1001 obtains, from the action information 1301 as illustrated inFIG. 13D, an action of “roaring (loudly)” corresponding to the action ID“ACT002” obtained by the signal receiving unit 1211, and causes theexhibit 1001 to perform the obtained action.

In step S1411, the identification information obtaining unit 402 of theterminal apparatus 100 obtains the action ID “ACT002” from the soundwave received by the signal receiving unit 401. Also, the identificationinformation obtaining unit 402 stores the obtained action ID “ACT002” inthe “action ID reception history” of the history information 413 asillustrated in FIG. 13B.

In step S1412, the execution control unit 404 of the terminal apparatus100 obtains, from the action information 1202 as illustrated in FIG.13C, an action of “screaming” corresponding to the action ID “ACT002”obtained by the identification information obtaining unit 402. Also, theexecution control unit 404 causes the terminal apparatus 100, which isthe robot information terminal, to execute the obtained action of“screaming”.

Further, in step S1413, the operator 1102 possessing the operatorterminal 1101 performs an operation of selecting an action “event 1”.

As a result, in steps S1414 and S1415, the display input control unit1221 of the operator terminal 1101 obtains the action ID “ACT001”corresponding to the action “event 1” from the control information 1302as illustrated in FIG. 13E. Also, the control information transmittingunit 1222 of the operator terminal 1101 outputs a sound wave includingthe action ID “ACT001” obtained by the display input control unit 1221.

In step S1416, the signal receiving unit 1211 of the exhibit 1001obtains the action ID “ACT001” included in the sound wave output fromthe operator terminal 1101. Also, the execution control unit 1212 of theexhibit 1001 obtains, from the action information 1301 as illustrated inFIG. 13D, an action of “causing the eyes to glow” corresponding to theaction ID “ACT001” obtained by the signal receiving unit 1211, andcauses the exhibit 1001 to perform the obtained action.

In step S1417, the identification information obtaining unit 402 of theterminal apparatus 100 obtains the action ID “ACT001” from the soundwave received by the signal receiving unit 401. Also, the identificationinformation obtaining unit 402 stores the obtained action ID “ACT001” inthe “action ID reception history” of the history information 413 asillustrated in FIG. 13B.

In step S1418, the execution control unit 404 of the terminal apparatus100 obtains, from the action information 1202 as illustrated in FIG.13C, an action of “waving the hand” corresponding to the action ID“ACT001” obtained by the identification information obtaining unit 402.Also, the execution control unit 404 causes the terminal apparatus 100,which is the robot information terminal, to perform the obtained actionof “waving the hand”.

With the above-described steps S1407 through S1418, it becomes possiblefor the terminal apparatus 100, which is the robot information terminal,and for the exhibit 1001, which is the dinosaur-shaped exhibit, toperform predetermined actions in accordance with an operation performedby the operator 1102 as illustrated in FIG. 11, for example.

As described, according to the information processing system of thesecond embodiment, in addition to the terminal apparatus 100, which isthe robot information terminal, the exhibit 1001 can also perform apredetermined action. Accordingly, the information processing system 1can control the terminal apparatus 100 and the exhibit 1001 as if robotscommunicate with each other.

Third Embodiment

In the first and second embodiments, the output apparatus 110 a usessound waves without directivity to form an approximately circular area102 a. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and theoutput apparatus 110 a may use sound waves with directivity to form anarea 102 a having a predetermined shape. In the third embodiment, anexample in which the output apparatus 110 uses sound waves withdirectivity to form an area having a predetermined shape will bedescribed.

<System Configuration>

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system configuration ofan information processing system according to the third embodiment. Inthe example of FIG. 15, the output apparatus 110 a is placed near anexhibit 103 a. The output apparatus 110 a uses sound waves havingdirectivity towards the south to form an area 102 a. The area 102 a mayinclude an exhibit 103 a only, or may also include other exhibits (forexample, an exhibit 103 b) as illustrated in FIG. 15. In FIG. 15,similarly to the output apparatus 110 a, the output apparatus 110 b usessound waves having directivity towards the south to form an area 102 b.

Further, as another example, in FIG. 15, an output apparatus 110 c isplaced on a table 1501. The output apparatus 110 c uses sound waveshaving directivity to form areas 102 c-1, 102 c-2, and 102 c-3.

In the output apparatus 110 according to the third embodiment, an areacan be formed in a predetermined direction by using sound waves havingdirectivity. Accordingly, a plurality of areas can be formed in anoutdoor facility. Thus, the present invention can be applied to anoutdoor facility.

(Frequency of Sound Wave)

FIG. 16 is a drawing for explaining a frequency of a sound waveaccording to one embodiment. A microphone mounted on a commonlyavailable information terminal can pick up sound waves in the audiofrequency range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. In the audio frequency range of 20Hz to 20 kHz, a frequency range greater than or equal to 16 kHz has highdirectivity and can be barely heard by humans. Thus, the frequency rangegreater than or equal to 16 kHz is preferably used when a sound waveincluding an area ID is output from the output apparatus 110.

Further, as the microphone mounted on the terminal apparatus 100, amicrophone capable of picking up sound waves in the ultrasonic frequencyrange greater than or equal to 20 kHz may also be used. In this case, apredetermined frequency range 1602 greater than or equal to 20 kHz (forexample, from 20 kHz to 24 kHz) has high directivity and can be barelyheard by humans. Thus, the frequency range 1602 can be used when a soundwave including an area ID is output from the output apparatus 110.

In order to output sound waves with a relatively high frequency, theoutput apparatus 110 is equipped with a flat speaker as illustrated inFIGS. 17A through 17C, for example.

FIGS. 17A through 17C are drawings illustrating the flat speakeraccording to the third embodiment. The flat speaker 1740 according tothe present embodiment has a flat magnet (a magnet layer) 1710 asillustrated in FIG. 17A. In the example of FIG. 17A, rod-shapedpermanent magnets 1711 are arranged with magnetic pole directions beingalternately different. As an example, the permanent magnets 1711 may beembedded in the flat magnet 1710 by forming projections on the flatmagnet 1710 in accordance with the thickness of the permanent magnets1711.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 17B, a buffer layer (a buffer member) 1720is disposed to entirely or partially cover the upper surface of the flatmagnet 1710. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 17C, a vibration plate (afirst vibration plate) 1730 is disposed on the upper surface of thebuffer layer 1720. The vibration plate 1730 is configured with aflexible substrate having a flat coil 1731. Namely, the vibration plate1730 is coupled to the flat magnet 1710 via the buffer layer 1720.

By disposing the buffer layer 1720, it becomes possible to secure amovable range required for the vibration plate 1730 to vibrate withsufficient amplitude, while also preventing the flat magnet 1710 and thevibration plate 1730 from adhering to each other and preventing partialvibrations of the vibration plate 1730.

The output apparatus 110 according to the present embodiment includesthe flat speaker (flat-type speaker) 1740 as illustrated in FIG. 17 andat least one plate-shaped member. The at least one plate-shaped memberis attached to the vibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker 1740 asillustrated in FIGS. 18A and 18B.

FIGS. 18A and 18B are drawings for explaining the output apparatusaccording to the third embodiment. The at least one plate-shaped member(hereinafter referred to as a “fin”) 1810 is formed of a material (forexample, iron or a material containing iron) that can be attached to thevibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker 1740 by magnetic force of theflat magnet 1710.

Also, as illustrated in FIG. 18A, the fin 1810 is attached to thevibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker 1740 by magnetic force of theflat magnet 1710, and has a first flat surface 1811 that forms apredetermined angle D with the vibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker1740.

The flat speaker 1740 outputs sound waves by causing the vibration plate1730 to vibrate based on sound wave signals applied to terminals 1732 aand 1732 b that are connected to the flat coil 1731, as illustrated inFIG. 17C.

Also, the fin 1810 functions as a second vibration plate that isconfigured to vibrate along with the vibration plate 1730 and output thesame sound wave as the flat speaker 1740 when the flat speaker 1740outputs a sound wave.

In order to function as the second vibration plate, the fin 1810 isformed of a metal material having a thickness of approximately 200 μm;however, the prevent invention is not limited thereto. The fin 1810 maybe formed of a material other than the metal material.

Also, the fin 1810 has a second flat surface 1812 on the opposite sideof the first flat surface. As illustrated in FIG. 18B, the outputapparatus 110 includes a sound absorber 1813 on the second flat surface1812 side of the fin 1810. With the sound absorber 1813, the fin 1810functioning as the second vibration plate is configured to output soundwaves in the direction of the first flat surface 1811. The soundabsorber 1813 may be formed of any material having excellent soundabsorbency, such as urethane foam or glass wool, for example.

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 18B, by attaching the fin 1810 tothe flat speaker 1740, sound waves can be output in a directionindicated by an arrow 1814.

FIG. 19 is a graph for explaining the output apparatus according to thethird embodiment. The graph illustrated in FIG. 19 indicates anexemplary relationship between the angle D, which is formed between theflat speaker 1740 and the first flat surface 1811 of the fin 1810illustrated in FIG. 18A, and sound pressure measured by a microphoneplaced in the direction indicated by the arrow 1814.

For example, as can be seen from FIG. 19, relatively high sound pressurecan be obtained when the angle D is 30° to 50° in respective cases wherea frequency of, a sound wave is set to 17,000 Hz and is set to 19,000Hz. Further, the angle D is preferably 35° to 45°.

FIG. 20 is a drawing illustrating an example of directivitycharacteristics of the output apparatus according to the thirdembodiment. The example illustrated in FIG. 20 indicates directivitycharacteristics in the horizontal direction of the output apparatus 110including the flat speaker 1740, the fin 1810, and the sound absorber1813 as illustrated in FIG. 18B. An arrow 1814 illustrated in FIG. 20corresponds to the arrow 1814 illustrated in FIG. 18B.

By attaching the fin 1810 the flat speaker 1740 and also attaching thesound absorber 1813 to the fin, the output apparatus 110 can form anapproximately elliptical area of sound waves. By using theabove-described output apparatus 110, for example, the approximatelyelliptical area 102 a of sound waves can be formed by the outputapparatus 110 a illustrated in FIG. 15.

Further, by attaching a plurality of fins 1810 to the flat speaker 1740,the output apparatus 110 can output sound waves in a plurality ofdirections.

FIG. 21 is a drawing for explaining the output apparatus according tothe third embodiment. FIG. 21 illustrates an example in which two fins1810 a and 1810 b are attached to the flat speaker 1740.

In the example of FIG. 21, the flat speaker 1740, the fin 1810 a, and asound absorber 1813 a cause sound waves to be output in a directionindicated by an arrow 1814 a, and the flat speaker 1740, the fin 1810 b,and the sound absorber 1813 b cause sound waves to be output in adirection indicated by an arrow 1814 b.

FIG. 22 is a drawing illustrating directivity characteristics of theoutput apparatus according to the third embodiment. The exampleillustrated in FIG. 22 indicates directivity characteristics in thehorizontal direction of the output apparatus 110 including the flatspeaker 1740, the fins 1810 a and 1810 b, and the sound absorbers 1813 aand 1813 b as illustrated in FIG. 21. An arrow 1814 a and an arrow 1814b illustrated in FIG. 22 correspond to the arrow 1814 a and the arrow1814 b illustrated in FIG. 21, respectively.

By attaching the fins 1810 a and 1810 b to the flat speaker 1740 andalso attaching the sound absorbers 1813 a and 1813 b to the fins 1810 aand 1810 b, the output apparatus 110 can form approximately ellipticalareas of sound waves in the two directions indicated by the arrows 1814a and 1814 b. Note that the sound absorber 1813 is not necessarilydivided into the two sound absorbers 1813 a and 1813 b, and may be onesound absorber.

Similarly, by attaching a plurality of fins 1810 to the flat speaker1740 and also attaching plurality of sound absorbers 1813 to the fins1810, areas of sound waves can be formed in a plurality of directions.

FIGS. 23A and 23B are drawings for explaining the output apparatusaccording to the third embodiment. For example, as illustrated in FIG.23A, by attaching four fins 1810 a through 1810 d to the flat speaker1740 and also attaching sound absorbers 1813 to the respective fins, theoutput apparatus 110 can form areas of sound waves in four directions.

Similarly, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 23B, by attaching threefins 1810 a through 1810 c to the flat speaker 1740 and also attachingsound absorbers 1813 to the respective fins, the output apparatus 110can form areas of sound waves in three directions. By using theconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 23B, the output apparatus 110 cillustrated in FIG. 15 can form the areas 102 c-1 through 102 c-3 inthree directions.

As described, the output apparatus 110 according to the presentembodiment includes the flat speaker 1740. The flat speaker 1740 canchange the direction of a sound wave output from the output apparatus110 in accordance with the direction in which the fin 1810 is attachedto the vibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker 1740;

Although the example in which the fin 1810 is attached to the flatspeaker 1740 by magnetic force of the flat magnet 1710 has beendescribed above, the fin 1810 may be formed of a material that is unableto be attached by magnetic force. In this case, the fin 1810 may beattached to the vibration plate 1730 of the flat speaker 1740 with adouble-sided adhesive tape or an adhesive.

According to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 15, an areaof sound waves can be readily formed not only in the indoor facility 10,but also in an outdoor facility.

Further, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, butvarious variations and modifications may be made without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A terminal apparatus for providing a descriptionabout one or more objects arranged in a predetermined area, the terminalapparatus comprising: a memory configured to store arrangementinformation indicating arrangement of the one or more objects in thepredetermined area and description information associated with the oneor more objects; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured toobtain area identification information for identifying the predeterminedarea when the terminal apparatus is located in the predetermined area,identify a positional relationship between the terminal apparatus andthe one or more objects based on the arrangement information when thearea identification information is obtained, and cause the terminalapparatus to describe an object of the one or more objects, inaccordance with the identified positional relationship between theterminal apparatus and the one or more objects, wherein the terminalapparatus further comprises: an orientation sensor that is configured todetect a direction in which the terminal apparatus faces, wherein theprocessor is configured to receive a sound wave output from an outputapparatus when the terminal apparatus is located in the predeterminedarea, the sound wave including the area identification information, andobtain the area identification information included in the sound wave,and wherein the output apparatus includes: a flat speaker configured tooutput the sound wave; and at least one plate-shaped member configuredto be attached to a first vibration plate that is a vibration plate ofthe flat speaker and to have a first flat surface that forms apredetermined angle with the first vibration plate, wherein the flatspeaker outputs the sound wave by causing the first vibration plate tovibrate based on a sound wave signal, and the at least one plate-shapedmember functions as a second vibration plate that vibrates along withthe first vibration plate and outputs the sound wave when the flatspeaker outputs the sound wave.
 2. The terminal apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the processor is configured to identify the objectlocated in a predetermined direction that is detected by the orientationsensor, and cause the terminal apparatus to describe the object locatedin the predetermined direction with respect to the terminal apparatus.3. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the terminalapparatus is a robot terminal, and the processor is configured to causethe terminal apparatus to describe the object located in a direction towhich a face of the robot terminal is directed.
 4. The terminalapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured toreceive predetermined control information, and cause the robot terminalto perform a predetermined action in accordance with the receivedpredetermined control information.
 5. The terminal apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the one or more objects is each configured toreceive predetermined control information and to perform a predeterminedaction in accordance with the received predetermined controlinformation, and the terminal apparatus is configured to output a soundwave including the predetermined control information in accordance withthe obtained area identification information.
 6. The terminal apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to obtainadditional information on the object described by the terminalapparatus, and cause the terminal apparatus to describe the additionalinformation on the object when the additional information is obtained.7. The terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to manage history information that includes information of auser who uses the terminal apparatus and includes information of the oneor more objects already described to the user, and prohibit the terminalapparatus from describing the one or more objects already described tothe user based on the history information.
 8. The terminal apparatusaccording to claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to permit theterminal apparatus to describe the updated or changed one or moreobjects when the one or more objects stored in the history informationis updated or changed.
 9. An output apparatus for outputting a soundwave including area identification information for identifying apredetermined area, the output apparatus comprising: a flat speakerconfigured to output the sound wave, and at least one plate-shapedmember configured to be attached to a first vibration plate that is avibration plate of the flat speaker and to have a first flat surfacethat forms a predetermined angle with the first vibration plate, whereinthe flat speaker outputs the sound wave by causing the first vibrationplate to vibrate based on a sound wave signal, and the at least oneplate-shaped member functions as a second vibration plate that vibratesalong with the first vibration plate and outputs the sound wave when theflat speaker outputs the sound wave, wherein the at least oneplate-shaped member has a second flat surface on an opposite side of thefirst flat surface, and the output apparatus includes a sound absorberdisposed on the second flat surface of the at least one plate-shapedmember to absorb the sound wave.
 10. The output apparatus according toclaim 9, wherein the at least one plate-shaped member is configured tochange a direction of the sound wave output from the output apparatus,in accordance with a direction in which the at least one plate-shapedmember is attached to the first vibration plate.
 11. An output apparatusfor outputting a sound wave including area identification informationfor identifying a predetermined area, the output apparatus comprising: aflat speaker configured to output the sound wave, and at least oneplate-shaped member configured to be attached to a first vibration platethat is a vibration plate of the flat speaker and to have a first flatsurface that forms a predetermined angle with the first vibration plate,wherein the flat speaker outputs the sound wave by causing the firstvibration plate to vibrate based on a sound wave signal, and the atleast one plate-shaped member functions as a second vibration plate thatvibrates along with the first vibration plate and outputs the sound wavewhen the flat speaker outputs the sound wave, wherein the flat speakerincludes: a magnet layer including one or more permanent magnets; andthe first vibration plate being coupled to the magnet layer via a buffermember and having a flat coil, and the at least one plate-shaped memberis attached to the first vibration plate by magnetic force of the magnetlayer.
 12. An information processing system including a terminalapparatus for providing a description about one or more objects arrangedin a predetermined area, the information processing system comprising: amemory configured to store arrangement information indicatingarrangement of the one or more objects in the predetermined area anddescription information associated with the one or more objects; and aprocessor coupled to the memory and configured to obtain areaidentification information for identifying the predetermined area whenthe terminal apparatus is located in the predetermined area, identify apositional relationship between the terminal apparatus and the one ormore objects based on the arrangement information when the areaidentification information is obtained, and cause the terminal apparatusto describe an object of the one or more objects, in accordance with theidentified positional relationship between the terminal apparatus andthe one or more objects, wherein the information processing systemfurther comprises: an orientation sensor that is configured to detect adirection in which the terminal apparatus faces, wherein the processoris configured to receive a sound wave output from an output apparatuswhen the terminal apparatus is located in the predetermined area, thesound wave including the area identification information, and obtain thearea identification information included in the sound wave, and whereinthe output apparatus includes: a flat speaker configured to output thesound wave; and at least one plate-shaped member configured to beattached to a first vibration plate that is a vibration plate of theflat speaker and to have a first flat surface that forms a predeterminedangle with the first vibration plate, wherein the flat speaker outputsthe sound wave by causing the first vibration plate to vibrate based ona sound wave signal, and the at least one plate-shaped member functionsas a second vibration plate that vibrates along with the first vibrationplate and outputs the sound wave when the flat speaker outputs the soundwave.